


Adventures in Babysitting

by gilliananderson



Category: The Fall (TV 2013), The X-Files
Genre: Babysitting, Bisexual Dana Scully, Bisexuality, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Homophobia, Sapphic, The X-Files Revival, txf, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28762557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gilliananderson/pseuds/gilliananderson
Summary: Dana and Stella babysit Dana’s nephews.
Relationships: Stella Gibson & Dana Scully, Stella Gibson/Dana Scully
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	Adventures in Babysitting

**Author's Note:**

> hi!! i haven’t posted anything in a bit. my grandma passed away on january 3rd and i haven’t quite felt like myself or been able to write since. this is the first thing i’ve been able to finish, and i feel like it’s still not my best, but i certainly tried. i hope you like it, still!

Dana Scully ran around her small one story house frantically trying to baby proof every inch of it. She hadn’t seen her nephews in what felt like a lifetime and while she knew they were technically no longer babies, she was terrified of the idea of them getting hurt while under her care. Matthew was 5 and Max was 2, and she hadn’t been around kids that young in forever. She was nervous and excited, terrified and giddy, unprepared and ready. 

When Stella had agreed to babysitting it was simply for Dana, she knew how badly she wanted to spend time with her nephews, though she hadn’t been prepared for the plan to change to the kids coming to their house. She thought that kids were sticky, difficult nightmares and she couldn’t imagine herself properly handling them. That’s why she’d shot Dana down anytime she entertained the idea of them having a kid together someday. She didn’t dislike kids, per say, but she certainly preferred to keep them at a safe distance. 

The blonde made her way out to the living room with a tired yawn to see her girlfriend sitting on the floor staring off into space. She raised her eyebrow and cleared her throat softly. 

“Dana, love, are you okay?” Stella asked. 

Dana turned to look at her with glassy eyes, “What if I fuck this up! Bill Jr will never let me see them again, and I haven’t seen them in so long already!” 

It was clear that the redhead was panicking and Stella let out a soft chuckle as she fell to the floor to hug her. 

“D, it’s going to be fine. You’re good with everyone. Old people, young people, animals. I have no doubt you’ll be great with your nephews too.” 

Stella gave her a reassuring smile, and Dana sighed as she laid her forehead on her girlfriends shoulder. 

“Tara is the one who asked if I’d babysit… As it is I’m positive she had to talk Bill into it. I just don’t want to do something to make him regret trusting me.” 

Stella’s heart broke at the sight of her girlfriend doubting herself all because of her ignorant older brother, but she figured now wasn’t the time to go off about her own opinions. Instead she held her close and whispered reassurances in her ear until the redhead had calmed and was ready to go back to her chores. 

Stella had concerns of her own over what was to come of their evening, but she kept them to herself. She didn’t want to cause any extra stress for Dana. She instead busied herself helping her girlfriend finish cleaning and child proofing their home. 

When the doorbell rang just after 6 pm Stella felt her heart jolt in her chest. She didn’t think she was ready for this, but she had to get ready real quick. Dana squealed excitedly as she sprinted towards the front door, turning to shoot Stella a big toothy grin. 

“They’re here!” She chirped as she reached to turn the knob. 

Stella watched as the door was swung open and two little red headed boys came charging through it, followed by exhausted looking adults. 

“Thank you so much for agreeing to watch them, Dana. We just need to get away for a bit while we’re in town.” The brunette woman sighed as she rubbed circles into her forehead. 

“Stella, this is my sister-in-law Tara.” The redhead introduced. 

Tara smiled warmly at Stella and reached out to hug her. 

“It’s so nice to finally meet you! I’ve heard so much about you from Dana and Melissa.” 

Stella smiled and nodded with a soft, “Nice to meet you too.” 

Bill Jr sculked his way through the door and shot daggers in Stella’s direction. He still hadn’t warmed up to the idea of his sister being with a woman, and he still blamed Stella for it. 

Dana considered saying something, though she was interrupted as a small body rammed into her, nearly knocking her off her feet.

“Aunt Dana!!” Matthew cried, wrapping his arms tightly around the redhead’s legs. 

“Matthew! Max!” She said cheerily as she pulled both boys into tight hugs. “You guys have gotten so big! What is this?!” 

Stella watched in adoration as Dana smiled down at the two little boys, pretending to be deeply invested in Matthew’s story about his lego collection. 

“Okay, we should be back around 10 or 11, if that’s alright?” Tara finally said, making her way towards the door. She was eager to start the night, free from rugrats. 

“Yes of course. Stay out as long as you need!” Dana assured her, causing the blonde to slightly wince with dread. 

“Their bedtime is no later than 9 o’clock. Make sure to have them down by then.” Bill Jr said in his monotone voice. 

Stella desperately wanted to give him a piece of her mind as she watched her girlfriend shrink with insecurity with every look he gave her, though she decided it would be wiser to not for now. 

Dana walked the tired parents out, leaving Stella at the mercy of the two little boys. 

“What’s your name? How old are you? Do you live with Aunt Dana? Why are you here? I’m five. I’m Matthew. I like legos.” Words spilled from the little redheads mouth in a stream, leaving Stella no chance to even answer any of his questions. As he continued to talk Max started to tug at her pant leg, and she noticed a sticky residue that followed each piece of the fabric his hand touched. She was seconds away from snapping when she heard the click of the front door shutting and Dana turned around with a bright smile. 

“Okay! Who’s hungry?” She asked. 

Matthew went to speak, though he was interrupted by his younger brother who, upon realizing his parents were now gone, started to loudly sob. Matthew began to talk over the cries, nearly yelling, while the crying youngest continued to pull on the bottoms of Stella’s pants, leaving more and more stickiness in his wake. 

The blonde felt as if she may burst into tears herself out of frustration, until Dana came over and swept Max up off the floor and hugged him tightly. 

“Hey little man, it’s okay! Mom and dad will be back soon, okay? We’re just gonna play for a while.” 

The little boy stared at her with watery blue eyes, and though he’d stopped his wailing once she picked him up he continued to sniffle. 

Before either woman could make another move Matthew began to run in circles around the living room, yelling and nearly breaking himself and their stuff as he went. Stella tried to chase after him though it only made it more of a game to him, and he began hiding in small spaces where Stella couldn’t get to him. She was finally able to catch him and dragged him back into the room where Dana still stood holding the younger boy. 

“Here, will you take him, Stel? I’m going to go heat their food up.” 

Dana passed him off into Stella’s arms as the blonde stood completely still, unsure of what to do with a child on her hip. She stared at him for a long moment, and noticed that his sniffles started to subside slowly before he eventually leaned his head down to rest on her shoulder. She tensed up at first though, when she looked down at his tiny face now relaxed and content she couldn’t help but smile. 

She led both boys into the kitchen to help Dana, and got them set up at the counter. Max started to cry again once he was no longer in Stella’s arms, but all it took was a few high pitched words of comfort for him to relax. Matthew grew impatient and tried to get down to run again but Stella quickly caught him and made him sit back in his seat. 

The microwave beeped and Dana pulled out the bowls of spaghettios, causing Matthew’s eyes to light up. 

“It’s about TIME!” He said with a pop of an attitude immediately causing Stella to elbow him lightly. 

“Hey, you be respectful to your aunt Dana.” She said with an air of warning. 

The redhead walked over and set a bowl in front of each boy, and topped off their sippy cups with grape juice. 

“Alright boys, eat your dinner and then we’ll watch a movie!” Dana said with a smile. 

“Can we watch two movies?! PLEASE?!” Matthew asked. 

“No, sorry buddy. It’ll probably time for bed after we watch one movie.” 

Matthew sighed dramatically and shoveled a spoonful of spaghettios into his mouth. 

Stella noticed that Max had only taken a few bites and was just pushing his food around in his bowl so she leaned down and fed him a couple bites herself. He was reluctant, but one glance up at Stella was all it took for him to comply.

Once both boys had declared that they were finished the blonde helped them down off the chairs as Dana started to wash the dishes. Stella had just set Max down when he started pulling on her pant leg again. 

“Up, up!” He cried reaching his hands up to her, “Up, Aunty Stewwa!” 

Stella felt an odd, unrecognizable feeling enter her chest in that moment and she instinctively bent down to pick him up. She swayed with him, back and forth, and he stopped his whining almost instantly. Matthew came back in to beg for cookies and was refusing to take no for an answer, though she was able to get him to go back to the living room and stop begging. 

She was beginning to think she was getting the hang of the whole child care thing when she suddenly felt a gush of warmth run down her back. Confused, she looked to Dana whose eyes were wide and horrified. 

“D, what? What is happening?” Stella asked, already knowing the answer as the little boy's vomit began to run down the bottom of her shirt and onto her pants. 

“Stella… Stella I’m sor-” Dana was cut off by the blonde thrusting the little redhead towards her. 

“FUCK! Just. Take him. Please. Just. Give me a minute.” 

Stella heard him begin to cry again loudly as she walked away, but she refused to slow her pace as she sprinted to their bedroom. 

She changed clothes and attempted to wash out the soiled ones, though she eventually realized it was no use and they would need to just be put in the washer. She could still hear his sobs through the closed bathroom door all the way from the other side of the house and she felt another unfamiliar feeling set in. Driven by it she made her way back out to the kitchen to see Dana still standing in the kitchen, rubbing Max’s back soothingly, trying to calm him. 

“I don’t know what to do… Should we call Bill and Tara? I don’t want to ruin their night!” The redhead was somewhat frantic though she kept her voice steady as she continued to console the crying toddler. 

“Let me have him.” Stella offered, holding her arms out. 

With a confused glance Dana handed him off and within a mere few seconds his crying had calmed. He laid his head on her shoulder trapping her blonde strands of hair under his neck and his sobs softened to light sniffles as he stilled. 

Dana was impressed, but chose not to make a big deal out of it, knowing Stella would have a fit. 

_ What a softie, _ she thought with a smile. 

Both women made their way into the living room where Matthew was already sitting on the couch with a dvd in hand. He’d chosen something from their collection- which were all rated PG-13 or higher, and Dana had to talk him into choosing a movie on demand instead. As she searched through the movie options Matthew’s glance met Stella’s and he grinned. 

“Why’d you say fuck?” He asked, immediately causing Dana’s head to whip around. 

“Wooooah! Woah. We don’t say that word, mister.” She scolded. 

“But Aunty Stella did!” He argued, and the blonde looked up at her partner with a sorry glance. 

“Well, she’s an adult. She’s allowed to, you cannot.” 

She gave him one more stern look and he nodded, gesturing for her to go back to searching for a movie.

They eventually settled on  _ Chicken Little _ and relaxed into the cushions all cuddled up together as they watched. 

Before the movie was even finished both boys were passed out cold; Matthew’s head resting on Dana’s lap, and Max still curled up in Stella’s arms. 

The blonde looked down at the sleeping toddler in her arms and smiled, the unfamiliar feeling returning yet again. She could get used to this. Maybe having a child with Dana wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. She loved her, and she planned on making a life with her. Kids were never a part of it for her, though she was starting to think that maybe she could see herself finding true happiness in a life like this. With Dana. 

A couple hours later there was a knock at the door and Dana sighed as she scooted Matthew off her lap causing him to wake up. 

“Your parents are back!” She said, walking towards the door. 

Matthew jumped up and followed her, immediately running into his mother’s arms once the door was opened. 

“Daddy! Mommy! Maxy threw up on Aunt Stella!” The use of “aunt” in front of her name made Bill Jr glare up at his little sister, though he said nothing as his son continued. “And then she said fuck! And then I learned that fuck is a bad word, so I’m not supposed to say fuck, so I won’t say fuck ever again!” He squeezed in that four letter word as many times as he could, causing his father’s glare to deepen.

Tara, however, looked as though she was holding back a laugh, and struggling to do so. 

Stella joined them a few minutes later as the sleeping child still clung to her shoulders. 

“I believe he’s feeling better, though he’s spent.” She said as she handed him off to his mom. 

“Thank you, and I’m sorry your clothes took the hit!” The brunette said sympathetically. 

“Don’t even mention it, I’m just glad he’s okay.” Stella returned with a smile. 

“How much do we owe you?” Tara asked, reaching for her wallet but Stella and Dana both held their hands out to stop her. 

“Nothing at all, Tara, please! We were just happy to spend time with them.” Dana replied. 

Tara looked genuinely touched and for a moment they thought she might cry. 

They finished saying their goodbyes and both women began to clean up their living room and kitchen before retiring to their bedroom. They were both beyond exhausted. 

Dana laid with her head on Stella’s chest as the blonde ran her fingers up and down her back softly. 

“It’s so quiet now. Almost too quiet. I kinda miss them being here.” Stella said. 

Dana looked up at her a bit surprised, but she smiled too. “I must say- I am both shocked and pleased to hear you say that.” 

The room fell silent again for a while, until Stella took a deep breath. 

“Dana…” 

“Mmm?”

“What if we did have a baby?” 

Dana’s eyes shot up to look into the blonde’s. 

“Stella… Are you serious?!” 

**Author's Note:**

> if you got this far thank you and i hope you enjoyed. 
> 
> any comments/thoughts are welcome! :)


End file.
